Rules
4
Object of the Game
5.2
Supplying Tipis
Before the settlers arrived at the great open plains, life of the Native
Americans was driven by the move of the big buffalo herds. Each
player becomes chief of a tribe and tries to survive the hard life without disturbing the balance of nature. And the buffaloes are moved
by all players, so it might always useful to have a pow-wow to find
out how the herd will move ...
Players move both the buffaloes and their Indian tribe over the
gameboard. Unfortunately the herd will not behave exactly as you
like, as the other players move the buffaloes as well. You may always negotiate the behaviour of the herd with other players, but
agreements are not binding if another player happens to “forget”
what he has promised ...
Tipis are supplied if there are at least as many buffaloes than tipis on
the same field. If there are less buffaloes than tipis, you have to pay
one resource for each of your unsupplied tipis, while tipis from other
players on the same field count first.
The game will accompany the buffaloes from the left side to the right
side of the gameboard. It is up to you where your tribe starts. You win
the game if you manage to have more tipis at the end of the game
than the other players. But you also have to be able to support your
tipis, and that becomes more and more difficult when the buffaloes
move on!
Buffaloes never turn back. They continue their move to the other
side of the gameboard. And when they move beyond the gameboard
into the open plains, they are out of the game.
There are two buffaloes, one of your tipis and three tipis from
other players on one field after you moved the buffaloes. The
buffaloes are allocated to the tipis of the other players (you
wouldn’t leave someone else unsupplied, wouldn’t you?), You
pay one resource from your personal stock to supply your tipi.
The others pay nothing - they will have to supply their tipis in
their turns. Of course you wouldn’t have to spend a resource if
there would be at least four buffaloes in that field.
As long as there are sufficient buffaloes around, you may feel free to
install new tipis on the gameboard. But at the latest when the other
players decide that exactly these buffaloes move on, you should not
fall behind. Only the tipis are save which made it to the open plains
before the game ends.
1
4 x 7 Tipis
36 Buffaloes
40 Resources
2
Game Preparation
The board is placed in the middle of the table. Players choose a colour and take the tipis of their colour and one resource. The remaining
resources are placed next to the gameboard for later use.
The buffaloes are placed in the first three rows on gameboard as
indicated by the symbols. Playing with four players, the entire game
board is used. But playing with only three players, the fields with the
lighter shade are not used (and my not be entered during the entire
game). Thus, 36 buffaloes are used for the four player game, but only
30 when playing with three people.
3
The player having most tipis at the end of the game wins.
5
Game Material
Gameboard
Players need buffaloes to support their tipis. As long as the tipis
are amongst buffaloes, they are supplied. Players may earn extra
resources to maintain unsupplied tipis, but at the end the tipis will
have to follow the buffaloes off the gameboard – or will be lost if they
fall unsupported.
Game Start
The start player is randomly determined. He places one of his tipis
on any arbitrary field on the gameboard (he may in fact not place it
on one of the lighter shaded fields in a three player game). The other
players follow clockwise. Then all players put a second tipi on a different field in the same way.
Although later in the game more than one tipi may reside on a field,
this may not be the case during game setup. Players may only insert
their tipis on fields which are not occupied by another tipi yet – may
this be of the own colour or not.
Game Turn
Starting with the startplayer and following clockwise, players perform
their move. In your turn, you
move the buffaloes,
supply your tipis
and choose one of the following extra activities:
You move your tipi on a field which is already occupied with two
tipis of player A and one tipi of player B. Players A, B and you
have to pay one resource. But as player B has no resources,
he pays nothing. Note that Player A only pays one resource although there are two of his tipis on the field!
Example 1:
You look whether all of you tipis are supplied and pay resources for
your unsupplied tipis. If you cannot support all tipis, the unsupplied
tipis are taken from the gameboard. You may not voluntarily leave a
tipi unsupplied if you still have resources in stock. And you may not
borrow resources from other players.
Example 2:
You have two unsupplied tipis and one resource in your personal stock. You pay the resource for one of the two tipis
(which one is your choice) and put the unsupplied tipi back to
the unused tipis in front of you. You may insert it again later in
the game.
Unused tipis shall not be mixed up with tipis which followed the buffaloes into the open plains at the end of the gameboard (see 5.3.1)!
move a tipi,
earn resources,
5.3
place a new tipi, or
move a buffalo.
You perform one of the four possible extra activities. You may not do
nothing at all.
5.1
Moving Buffaloes
Move as many buffaloes as you have tipis on the gameboard (tipis
which have left the gameboard already do not count). You may not
move a buffalo more than one field. Buffaloes move straight or cross
towards the other side of the gameboard, they may not be moved
backwards. No more than five buffaloes may be in one field at any
time. Moving the buffaloes is mandatory, you may not skip a move.
Example: Moving a Tipi
If you move your tipi into the open plains (that means, from one of the
fields in the last row), it remains in the free space at the end of the
gameboard. It will count for victory at the end of the game. Do not put
it back to the unused tipis in front of you!
5.3.2 Earning Resources
You count the number of buffaloes in all fields where only you have
tipis. You take the number of buffaloes minus the number of tipis in
those areas and that’s the number of food blocks you take. You do not
get resources in areas which contain other tipis beside your own.
You may not have more than ten resources in your personal stock.
Example: Earning Resources
You have seven resources already and may earn four more.
But you take only three, as you may not exceed the limit of ten
resources.
Extra Activities
5.3.1 Moving a Tipi
Move one of your tipis to any adjacent field. Like buffaloes, tipis may
not be moved on the lighter shaded fields in games with three players. And they may only leave the gameboard only at the side where
the buffaloes may leave it.
Note that the buffaloes are not removed from the gameboard if you
earn resources!
5.3.3 Inserting a Tipi
Pay three resources and place a new tipi in any area where only you
have already one ore more tipis. You may not insert a tipi in areas
where other players have tipis as well, or where you do not have a
tipi already.
5.3.4 Moving a extra Buffalo
If you move a buffalo into the open plains (from one of the fields in
the last row on the gameboard), it is taken out of the game. Buffaloes
may not leave to the left or right side, only at the opposite side of the
gameboard. And buffaloes may not be placed on a lighter shaded
field in games with three players.
If the field a tipi has moved to is occupied by tipis from other players,
all players who have tipis in that field (including you) have to pay one
resource (into the public stock aside the gameboard). If any of the
other players has no resources, he does not have to pay. But you
may not enter an occupied field if you cannot pay the resource (payment is mandatory for the entering player). No payment required if
you move a tipi to a field which is occupied by your tipis only.
You may move one extra buffalo. The same rules apply as in 5.1.
Note that this is after you had to support your tipis – you may not use
the extra buffalo move to support an unsupplied tipi. But you may
move one of the buffaloes you moved in 5.1 already.
6
End of the Game
The game ends when no tipis are left in the game - they have either
entered the open plains at the end of the gameboard, or have to be
taken out of the game due to lack of resources. The player with most
tipis in the open plains wins the game. In case of a tie, the player with
most remaining resources wins.
© 2008 Argentum Verlag Brabanter Straße 55 50672 Köln
Author: Dirk Liekens Graphic: Dennis Lohausen